By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, LaKEISHA McSWEENEY &KHASHAN POITIER Guardian Staff Reporters
A fun-filled holiday trip abruptly turned tragic when a mail boat and cargo ship collided on the high seas claiming the lives of four, injuring 25, leaving several unaccounted for and a nation in shock.
Tragedy struck shortly after one a.m., when the 98-foot Sea Hauler was heading for Cat Island for the island's annual homecoming, a Bahamian tradition to commemorate the Emancipation Day holiday, collided with the 178-foot cargo ship United Star.
In addition to cars and other cargo, the Sea Hauler had a crane aboard, which fell on unwitting victims.
The United Star, en route to Nassau from Cat Island, broadsided the Sea Hauler, which had been on the sea for six hours on the way to Smith's Bay.
Upon impact, eight miles west of Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera, and 20 miles east of Highbourne Cay in the Exumas, the crane aboard the Sea Hauler dislodged, crushing several passengers on deck, killing four of them.
"I never saw nothing like that before in my life," a woman told The Guardian. "A man's leg was cut at the knee and his thigh was split."
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force mobilized vessel P-42 to the scene and the United States Coast Guard deployed two helicopters to airlift injured people to Nassau International Airport. The Royal Bahamas Police Force also aided in the rescue effort.
All agencies collaborated in searching for missing people, maybe as many as seven.
Throughout Saturday morning, ambulances transported the wounded from the airport to Princess Margaret Hospital.
There were reportedly 194 passengers and seven crew members aboard the Sea Hauler and six passengers and five crew members on the United Star.
The Sea Hauler was only one of eight boats on the way to Cat Island. The others, the Legacy, the Seawind, the MV Captain Moxey, the Lady Emerald, the Captain C, the Sherice M and the Lady Roslyn all arrived safely.
Prime Minister Perry Christie called the disaster at seas a national tragedy and pledged to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
By the time word reached family members of the tragedy, scores of panic-stricken loved ones gathered at the emergency of PMH to anxiously await news of their relatives' fates. Eventually barricades were erected by police to contain the huge crowd in the area.
One family member at the scene, Douglas Cash was relieved that his son was unharmed.
Caption:THE WAIT – Weary passengers, who survived the ordeal wait to be transported back to Nassau Harbour at Potter's Cay Dock. Photo by Marcia Taylor
Posted Tuesday 5 August, 2003
